Samsung Galaxy Ring - Smarts Without the Bulk

I like to think of myself as an early adopter.

When mobile phones got smart, I upgraded.

I've been wearing smartwatches since before most big brands were even making them.

But when it comes to smart rings, I've completely missed the boat.

So much so, I don't even really know how long they've been around. I guess I was vaguely aware people were wearing them overseas but until very recently, I certainly didn't know anybody who used one regularly.

Turns out, I'm a complete Luddite. The first mass-produced smart ring appeared back in 2013, although this was more of an NFC payment device without any of the health-tracking features you'd expect of such a ring today; kind of like PayWave wrapped around your finger.

Turns out things have evolved somewhat over the last decade or so.

The Samsung Galaxy Ring is the latest of these devices to hit New Zealand shores, although it's been on sale in other markets since July last year.

I imagine it's a bit of a risk, bringing a product like this to such a small, remote market. Not only is the Galaxy Ring available in three colours; Titanium Black, Titanium Silver and Titanium Gold, it also comes in 11 different sizes - so essentially, for every ring someone buys, there are 32 others left waiting in the stock room.

Obviously you'll need to order the right size, so when you order, Samsung will send out a sizing kit first. They recommend you wear your preferred sizing ring for a full 24 hours to make sure it's right. This is great advice as I know my fingers definitely swell up at different times of the day and night and because the Galaxy Ring has three raised sensors on the inside surface, it'll feel slightly different to any other ring you're used to.

I don't know much about jewellery but in my humble opinion I think the Galaxy Ring is attractive enough - the scratch-resistant titanium finish is matte rather than shiny, while the band itself is slightly concave - again to help avoid cosmetic damage. In the time I was wearing my review sample, it definitely lived up to Samsung's wear-and-tear-proof claims. I wore it pretty much nonstop; gardening, cooking, exercising and sleeping. Even the bright yellow turmeric I added as I rolled my lamb kofta meatballs didn't manage to stain my Titanium Silver ring. Just a small note; all three colour options are black on the inside, so the silver and gold versions are are two-tone affair.

The other recommendation from Samsung is to wear the Galaxy Ring on your forefinger. This is mainly because you can use a double-tap gesture to stop alarms on your phone or as a remote to shoot pictures with your phone's camera. There's a raised "indicator" line on the outside of the ring. This helps you position it correctly, with the sensors pressed underneath your finger and you perform the double-tap against this indicator line.

Personally, I feel like a complete knob wearing a ring on my forefinger so I went for my middle one instead. I found I was still able to double-tap my alarms away and this is actually quite handy for me because I have a backup alarm on my phone that doesn't go off until I'm driving to work. Thanks to the Galaxy Ring, I could silence it without taking my hands off the wheel.

I was surprised how much light spills out from the Galaxy Ring's three sensors in a dark room in the middle of the night. I don't know why I was surprised - these are the same sort of heart monitoring and skin temperature sensors you'll find on a smartwatch and most smartwatches will light up a bedroom too. At least the Galaxy Ring is likely to be dimmed by a closed fist or when your hand is against another surface.

The tracking itself is limited but truly excellent.

I've been using Samsung Galaxy Watches for years so I expected great heart monitoring and effective sleep-tracking. What I hadn't anticipated is how well the Galaxy Ring records walking and running too. That's right; you no longer need a watch to track exercise - in fact, you don't even need to take your phone with you. Somehow the Galaxy Ring automatically detects your workouts and syncs them with the Samsung Health app when it gets back within bluetooth range.

It's a shame it can't detect other workouts at this stage. Perhaps future firmware updates will enable this, if not the next generation of ring.

Thanks to its skin temperature sensor, the Galaxy Ring is also capable of tracking your menstrual cycle which is bound to help make life a little more predictable.

You can keep an eye on the Galaxy Ring's battery level via the Samsung Wear app, or you can just pop it in the charging case where an LED indicator shows you how much charge is left. The case itself charges via USB-C and also, even more conveniently, on wireless charging pads too. Although Samsung suggests you might get up to 14 days wear between charges, I found I was getting low battery notifications via my phone after 6 or 7 days. No great drama though as the ring usually charged back to 100% in just an hour or so.

This is one big reason why I can see many people opting for the Galaxy Ring over a smartwatch. Most smartwatches only last a day or two on a single charge. That means if you want to use it for sleep tracking, you have to find some other time during the day to juice it up. That problem simply doesn't exist with the Galaxy Ring. And it's definitely a lot more comfortable to wear to bed than a bulky device like the Galaxy Watch Ultra.

Not that it has to be an either/or scenario. Supposedly, if you use the Galaxy Ring and a Samsung smartwatch simultaneously, they'll talk with each other to provide more consistent and accurate readings than either device will on its own.

This is hard to assess but I've certainly appreciated Samsung Health's new Energy Score, an AI-generated stat that basically accumulates all the health data any of your devices can provide. This comes in the form of a constructively-worded notification - full of praise and reinforcement if the score is good, or including some helpful suggestions on better sleep and exercise habits if the total is a little sub-par.

The Galaxy Ring is an attractive, easy-to-setup tracking device that's durable, comfortable to wear and has good battery life. Unless you're a complete Samsung ecosystem junkie, I doubt very much most people would see the value in owning both a Galaxy Ring and a Galaxy Watch and that's fine - because if it's just general health monitoring, sleep-tracking and running or walking you want to keep an eye on, maybe a ring is more your style than a watch anyway.

At least now New Zealanders have the option.

    

Click here for more information on the Samsung Galaxy Ring.

Samsung 9100 Pro SSD - Never Underestimate What a New Drive Can Do

Have you ever taken your computer to bits?

It's a lot of fun. It's also quite terrifying - especially the first time.

Over the years I've had computers come and go and I've successfully managed to eek out a bit more life from most of them by performing a few simple upgrades.

And I do mean simple; I'm more than happy to unscrew the bottom of my laptop or slide off an access panel on a PC. But once you get into soldering or anything like that, I'm out.

Luckily, upgrades like storage, RAM and graphics cards are usually just a matter of undoing a few screws and slotting the new bit into place.

Well, if you're prepared to give it a go Samsung has a new bit that'll get you a lot more space and maybe even speed things up at the same time.

With the launch of the 9100 Pro, Samsung has unveiled its first 8TB SSD. That's not a typo. From the second half of this year, you'll be able to replace your existing SSD module with an unprecedented 8 terabytes - on a single card.

Of course, because I'm a total nerd, I couldn't wait that long so I got them to send me a 4TB one, which is available right now, along with the 1TB and 2TB versions.

Luckily, my test laptop can accomodate the PCIe 5.0 x 4 NVEMe M.2 model, although there are also heatsink options available for powerful gaming rigs and PS5 consoles.

I've given this speech before, but it's been a while so it bears repeating... A larger capacity SSD doesn't just mean more storage space - although given most new laptops ship with a maximum of 512GB (if you're lucky) the prospect of doubling, quadrupling or even octupling the room for photos, videos and games is probably tempting enough.

A bigger internal drive also means your computer can work more efficiently because it's less likely to have to split data up to fit into whatever space there is available. This is especially important when manipulating large audio and video files. 

I've just finished editing another year's radio award entries. Although the final mixdown is only ten minutes long, my Adobe Audition file contains hours and hours of audio. If you're trying to move dozens of large files like that around your computer, decent RAM certainly helps in terms of sheer power but the more empty space you have to scatter the files over, the less that RAM has to think about.

But all that's before we get to the fact the Samsung 9100 Pro reads and writes faster too. Much faster. Well, much faster than what I was currently using, anyway.

The SSD I was using in my test laptop was rated to read/write at about 3,000MB/s. Not too shabby. The Samsung 9100 Pro I've replaced it with is rated up to 14,800MB/s. That's one scorching upgrade.

Obviously, you'll need the appropriate hardware to work with the 9100 Pro to achieve those speeds. The poor little five year-old CPU in my laptop wasn't designed for such things and yet I've noticed a significant jump in basic operations already.

The computer starts slightly quicker, games and apps launch much faster and the time spent on loading screens between levels on many games has reduced dramatically.

And I now have more actual storage than I know what to do with. Literally. I back up all the family photos I've ever taken on a couple of external hard drives for safety. They'd easily fit on 4TB. What's more, thanks to the colossal read-write speeds of the 9100 Pro and the much higher capacity of the recent Thunderbolt 4 and 5 USB cables and ports, such media backups take next to no time.

Samsung's Magician disk management software is also extremely efficient. By plugging in the new SSD via an external enclosure, I was able to migrate around 400GB on my test laptop in about two hours, which includes formatting the new drive and making it bootable.

There was a short period of unease when the laptop didn't start first time after I'd installed the 9100 Pro but that was due to operator error on my part. Like I say, I haven't done this in a while and I'm a bit rusty. Turns out you can push an SSD card too far in which might cause the locking screw to lose contact when it's tightened up. Rookie (or out-of-practice-geezer) mistake. I simply loosened things up a bit and everything started working again. And boy did it start working faster than ever before. It's like a whole new laptop. But a whole lot cheaper.

    

Click here for more information on the Samsung 9100 Pro PCIe 5.0 NVMe M.2 SSD.

Norton AI Scam Protection - Putting the Genie Back In the Bottle

None of us believes we'd fall for an online scam.

I mean, what kind of idiot would send money to someone they don't know? Who'd be gullible enough to provide their login details for their bank accounts? And surely no-one would ever click a link to install unknown software on their phone or computer?

But what if?...

What if you got a message from an unknown number claiming to be your daughter who'd lost her phone? You'd at least have to send her some money to pay the fare home, right?

What if you got an actual email from your actual bank warning you of a security breach, requiring you to follow a "secure link" to a "secure site" in order to change your password?

What if you got a call from a genuine cyber-security firm to inform you your device has been infected with malware, then providing you with step-by-step instructions on how to remove it?

Can you really be sure if the baddies caught you at the wrong time on the wrong day in the wrong set of circumstances you wouldn't be vulnerable to just the right con?

That's why Norton has granted all your scam-proofing wishes.

About a year ago I reviewed a new service called Norton Genie. This allowed you to upload a picture of a suspicious message or email, or copy the text from one, to check if it was the genuine article or just a scam.

Then Norton's AI Genie would compare it with its vast database of known scams and let you know the result in a matter of seconds. While this AI was being trained and was still in beta, it was available as a free mobile app and also as a web-based service.

Well, it must be working for people because Norton has now included this AI-powered tool in its 360 suite of cyber-security services to keep its customers protected from scams automatically.

That means for no extra charge, Norton 360 subscribers can opt to have their texts, emails and even social media accounts monitored for any of those offers that aren't just too good to be true, they could literally result in your identity being traded on the dark web.

While human beings like you and me are always susceptible to certain psychological tricks and triggers, Norton Genie isn't. It analyses text, links, and subtle emotional and contextual cues within messages to identify advanced scams and is guaranteed to let you know if something seems off.

And I do mean guaranteed. Many levels of Norton 360 subscriptions include a 100% virus protection promise - if somehow you DO get infected, if the Norton support team can't help, you'll get your money back.

According to Norton's comprehensive data, since 2021 the incidence of cyberthreats originating from scams and social engineering has tripled, now making up a whopping 90% of all threats. Basically, the bad actors have cottoned onto our greatest weakness; we're human.

The beauty of Norton's Genie-based solution is once you've set it up, you can forget all about it. Norton 360 really is capable of monitoring every aspect of your online activities - from browsing to file downloads to app installations to Wi-Fi security - if anything is remotely suspect, you can be sure you'll receive a notification and whatever you're doing will be paused until you give the go-ahead.

The best aspect of all of this is being an AI, Norton Genie is still learning. Every time something suspicious is flagged, Norton's scam protection gets even stronger.

Starting at just $NZ49.99 for the first year, I'm confident you'll be impressed with the multi-faceted level of cyber protection Norton 360 offers and even if that's too much of a commitment, you can still try Norton Genie for yourself for no charge at all. The next time you receive an SMS, email or social media message that looks a bit dodgy, plug it into the Norton Genie app and check out the results. I think you'll soon see why I've come to depend on Norton 360 to keep me safe online.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on Norton 360 plans that include Genie Scam Protection.

JBL Tour Pro 3 - The Everything Earbuds

Here's how my tech addiction works.

I'm going about my life, perfectly happy and content. I have my collection of toys and gadgets. Some make my life better. Some are just for fun. And, to be perfectly honest, some are a bit of a flex, just me showing off to other nerds who care about this kind of stuff.

Then I become aware of a new tech development I don't have. Often, it will be something I didn't even know I needed. Okay, I probably (definitely) don't NEED it... but FOMO quickly takes over and suddenly I can't live without it. Whatever it is.

The new JBL earbuds are a bit like that.

The JBL Tour Pro 3 might just be the most full-featured pair of buds I've ever stuck in my ears.

This begins before you even get them out of the case, as this model is one of several JBL offers with a "smart" charging case, easily spotted by its 1.57-inch touchscreen display. This alone could be reason enough for you to consider the Tour Pro 3. Being able to control your connections, adjust EQs, noise cancellation and other settings without having to open the JBL Headphones app on your phone is damn handy - especially if it's not your phone you're currently listening to.

Thanks to the latest Bluetooth 5.3 LE connectivity, these are great buds to pair with your TV, streaming box, console or gaming handset - very little lag and a reliable connection.

I strongly advise you to start with the Headphones app though - when you have this many features to play with there's quite a lot of setting up and tweaking to be done. Thanks to what JBL calls Personi-fi 3.0, you can specifically customise the sound scheme to your individual preferences. This doesn't just mean setting an EQ, you can also tailor-make an Active Noise Cancelling setup that's unique to your surroundings and if you've got a spare 5 minutes, it's worthwhile taking the Personi-fi hearing test so the Tour Pro 3 can boost the frequencies you usually miss out on.

Then you can let the hybrid dual-drivers do their thing. This means the classic JBL bass response you'd expect and genuine Hi-Res audio courtesy of the 24-bit LDAC codec.

"Training Season" by Dua Lipa is one of those perfectly produced pop songs; great beat, catchy hook and clever use of different dynamics to keep you listening all the way through. Every element is beamed into my brain powerfully and with crystal clarity.

Kylie Minogue's "Someone For Me" is the same but different. Her voice is heavily effected throughout, even multi-tracked in the chorus to achieve a gang-vocal vibe. This time everything is electric - no acoustic vibe at all - yet despite that, the Tour Pro 3 drivers provide enough space for the bass to keep the party going while other keyboard effects drop in and out.

"Empire" by Dean Lewis is quite the contrast; all acoustic guitars and hand claps. Yet here again, the somewhat sonically empty track still manages to fill my head.

A big part of why these buds sound so "big" is thanks to the fit. JBL really gives you all the options here; five sizes of silicone ear tips and if that's not enough, there's even a set of foam tips in the box. Many people find these more comfortable and thanks to the way the foam moulds itself to your ear canals, they provide excellent passive noise cancellation too. On the downside, foam isn't quite as durable as silicone and it's a bit harder to keep clean - but it's nice to have the choice.

The ANC is outstanding, by the way - although I have to say, decent noise cancelling is fast becoming a minimum expectation from premium buds like these so I was happy to find the Tour Pro 3 didn't disappoint.

I do have to mark the Tour Pro 3 down a little for gesture customisations. The buds are controlled with single-taps, double-taps and tap-&-holds. Frustratingly, although you can assign volume, ANC or media controls to either bud, only the single and double-taps can be changed - and then only as a pair of controls for either bud.

For example, you can have volume controls on the left bud and ANC on the right, but not down volume on one side and up on the other.

And whatever you choose, the tap-&-hold is reserved for your voice assistant. On both buds. Which is dumb. It's a voice assistant. I can summon it with my voice.

The JBL Headphones app is also how you update the firmware - again, something I highly recommend, although it takes a frustratingly long time. Doubly long given the charging case will probably also require a firmware update itself.

But it's well worth it due to the FOMO features I haven't even got to yet.

You see, the Tour Pro 3 charging case also doubles as a bluetooth transmitter, which is why it comes with both 3.5mm AUX and USB-C audio cables in the box. This means you can literally plug the case into any external source with an audio-out - like a laptop or aeroplane entertainment screen - and your Tour Pro 3 buds will connect automatically, no pairing required. Think about that; high quality, personalised listening on the plane without the bulk of an over-ear headset.

Of course, you need great battery life for a long flight. How does 11 hours on a full charge sound? (Not to mention another 33 in the case)

And that case, that wonderful, magical case, still has one more trick up its sleeve; Auracast.

Last year JBL introduced Auracast connectivity to its range of bluetooth speakers. This allowed any recent model JBL speaker, no matter the size, to connect and stream in sync with the source device at the push of a button. Guess what? The Tour Pro 3 can do that too.

Simply swipe that (by now indispensable) screen to scroll to the Auracast settings and you can send whatever you're listening to to any other nearby Auracast-enabled device. You don't even need to have the buds in, you can just use the case as a wireless transmitter.

Better still, it also works the other way. This means if you like to listen louder (or quieter) than someone else in the room, if it's an Auracast speaker, you can now hear what it's playing through your Tour Pro 3 buds.

See? It's a very long list of features and I didn't even get to the 6-mic array that provides noise-free phone calls and video chats. And there's probably other stuff I've forgotten. If you were wondering if you're getting value for money from a set of earbuds that costs NZ$429.95... stop wondering.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the JBL Tour Pro 3.

Technics EAH-AZ100 - Is There Anything These Buds Can't Do?

When Technics suddenly appeared in the True Wireless earbuds market a couple of years ago, it hit the ground running with some of the best examples of in-ear audio available to consumers at the time.

So it stands to reason the latest generation has taken Technics' proud history of audio excellence to a whole new level.

The AZ100 look very similar to the first few Technics buds I've tried. That is to say, not like any other earbuds out there. Well, I suppose there's an unavoidable resemblance to the previous generation AZ80 as Technics has kept the unusual "concha-fit" design which corkscrews its way into your ear canals to ensure a comfortable and secure fit.

But when compared side-by-side, it's easy to see how much more compact the new model is - especially on the outer-half of the earbuds. They're still a bit of a fashion statement - especially given the trademark Technics machined disc effect on the touch pads - but they no longer feel like they're sticking out awkwardly.

Even the charging case is smaller and lighter but not to worry, it still charges wirelessly as well as via USB-C.

The comfy, snug fit is further enhanced by the choice of ear tips; there are five sizes included in the box. This is great news for someone like me who has mismatching ear holes. It took me years of reviews before I realised I needed a smaller tip for my left ear, not a bigger one. The AZ100 buds are rock solid and with their IPX4 water-resistance they're the perfect option for exercise, being pretty much sweat-proof.

The Technics team seems pretty proud of what it's achieved with the Active Noise Cancelling on the AZ100s - and deservedly so. It might just be the best ANC I've experienced from in-ear devices. They've brought a similar level of expertise to what they're calling Voice Focus AI. Not only does this remove background noise from your voice as heard by others on your phone or video call, it will also tidy up their voice for you. Nothing artificial about that intelligence. It's just plain clever.

As is the new driver setup. Treat your ears to the magic of the Magnetic Fluid Driver. They've literally filled these things up with some kind of mystical oil that pretty much eliminates any distortion or vibration. Smooth.

Like any high-end piece of audio technology, I've discovered the trick to getting the most out of the EAH-AZ100 is tweaking the settings to your personal preference. This will take you a bit of time. There are a lot of settings in the Technics Audio Connect app.

A lot.

I'm not just talking about adjusting the EQ, choosing from a list of presets or custom-making your own.

Nor am I referring to the noise-cancelling settings, which should be tuned to your unique environment before you even begin listening.

No, you've got far more important decisions to make. Like exactly which connection protocol are you going to go for? LDAC for high resolution listening? Spatial Audio to enable authentic head-tracking (pretty fun when gaming or watching movies). Or are you really going to make the most of the latest lossless streaming apps and enable the relatively new LE Audio mode, the low-energy but super-stable bluetooth connection that takes mobile listening to another level?

The downside to having all these options - apart from the time it takes to choose the one that suits you best - is that some aren't compatible with others. For example, you can't use Spatial Audio in LE Audio mode. In fact, changing certain protocols will require you to re-pair the AZ100 completely.

But trust me, the end result is definitely worth it.

The bouncing bass-line on Sabrina Carpenter's "Espresso" proved to be the perfect track to demonstrate just how lusciously the AZ100 drivers handle the low end of the frequency spectrum. Somehow these bobbing, bass beats not only sound warm and cosy but everything stays accurate, right across the aural range. I'm not surprised; Technics prides itself on its studio-accurate sound reproduction. Still, this might be the best bass I've heard from a pair of earbuds.

Whether that can be directly attributed to the new magnetic fluid technology, I couldn't speculate. Maybe it's just a psychological thing but this really does feel like a warm bath for my ears - a bath set at just the right temperature; not too hot, no too cold. 

Meanwhile, the opening acoustic guitar-versus-bass-drum verse of "Missing Piece" by Vance Joy is just as precise and using my preferred combination of settings, the stereo effects are really fun, creating more space than seems possible in such a little track - a bit like Dr Who's Tardis, bigger on the inside.

And Super Bowl half-timer, Kendrick Lamar's "squabble up" is just crazy, a riotous combination of monotone bass, guest vocals drifting in and out, sci-fi sound effects and every word of Lamar's confrontational rhymes punching through loud and clear.

If I had to single out a single feature that I appreciate more than any other it would be the touch sensor customisation. I'm often frustrated with other earbuds when it comes to operations like adjusting volume or turning ANC on and off. Sometimes you can assign certain things to certain controls but rarely can you literally set it up any old way you want. That's exactly what you can do on the AZ100s. For me, long pressing the right bud to wind up the volume and long pressing the left to turn it down just seems more instinctive. Now I can have it that way.

If these earbuds aren't perfect, they're pretty damn close. Plenty of options to ensure a rock-solid, comfy fit. Great battery life. Perhaps the best ANC I've heard (or not heard) and not just super-accurate, studio-quality sound reproduction but pretty much every bluetooth and hi-res connection option available.

Too many options. Too many ways to make these buds yours. So make them yours.

    

Click here for more information on Technics AZ100.

ECOVACS DEEBOT N20 PRO PLUS - When Less Is Best

Make no mistake, I've been a convert of robot vacuums for years. There's nothing like coming home from work - or even a holiday - to discover your house has been freshly vacuumed.

But if there's one thing I've learned about these technological timesavers, it's that they require more attention than you might have initially suspected.

Just because they're robots doesn't mean they can do everything themselves. Yes, some have their own self-cleaning stations, but those stations still need emptying eventually. Brushes and filters also wear out over time and will need replacing. 

The good news is, one of the latest DEEBOT robot vacuums from ECOVACS now does a much better job of looking after itself.

The DEEBOT N20 PRO PLUS doesn't look dramatically different from other ECOVACS robot vacuums but the same can't be said for its auto-empty station. It's quite a compact home base and unlike previous models that contained large, disposable bags to collect the dust, dirt and other detritus, here ECOVACS introduces its PureCyclone Technology. 

Instead of emptying into a large bag that you eventually have to throw away and replace, everything is sucked directly into an easily-removable, 400ml dust chamber which just clicks out for you to empty, then clicks back in just as easily.

There are so many advantages to this new system, other than the fact you're not having to fork out for replacement dust bags every few months. Obviously, it means less waste, so it's better for the environment. It also maintains total suction right up until the chamber is full and the dust chamber on board the N20 vacuum itself stays spotlessly empty after every clean. This in turn means the vacuum also maintains full power and I can assure you, that 8000Pa of suction leaves your floors looking amazing, every time.

The N20 PRO PLUS also features a new, four-stage filter system, keeping any unwanted dust or odours to an absolute minimum - great news for you allergy-prone sneezers out there.

Another new innovation is the ZeroTangle main brush head. ECOVACS claims the combination of flat and outward-rotating angled bristles with a double set of comb teeth prevents hair getting wrapped around the roller brush. 

This is a constant issue in my house, as it is occupied by three long-haired ladies and a dog. Unfortunately, the DEEBOT's ZeroTangle system doesn't quite seem to live up to the hype and I still find myself having to cut tangled hair from the roller every few cleans. On the upside, there aren't any rubber blades on this brush head, which always seem to be the first things to wear out on other vacuums so again, it looks like I won't have to replace the roller as often.

There's only one side brush on the N20 PRO PLUS whereas many other robot vacuums have two. These spinning, brushes are designed to sweep debris from corners and the base of skirting boards into the path of the main roller to be sucked up. I was worried one brush less would make this device half as effective but as far as I can tell, it's more than smart enough to compensate, spinning around in tight spaces to ensure the most thorough clean possible. Yet again, this will save me money as it's one less accessory I'll have to replace when it wears out.

Depending on your budget, robot vacuums handle mopping one of two ways; either you manually add some kind of mopping attachment or there's an automated filling and emptying feature on the base station. Having your robot fill itself with clean water, go out and mop, then return to drain the dirty water and clean itself certainly sounds very sci-fi. But guess what? Sooner or later you're going to have to fill up that clean water tank in the base station and deal with the dirty water tank too. Ick.

Unless things can progress to the point where the base station can be plumbed in, (no, I don't know how that would work either, but they did it with fridges) I now think it's easier to do things the N20 way; a separate mopping module with its own water reservoir and a replaceable pad underneath. You just fill it up, pop it in and let the automated mopping begin. I've always been impressed with the results from DEEBOT mopping and with the latest OZMO Pro 2.0 vibrating mopping system, ECOVACS has only improved the experience, leaving a spotless, quick-dry finish.

There have also been improvements to the high-traction drive wheels on the N20 PRO PLUS, now ensuring door-sills, mats and rugs up to 20mm high are literally no obstacle. This can actually cause its own issues, which I'll explain shortly - but for the most part, I've found the object detection, avoidance and general manoeuvrability to be first-rate.

The potential for trouble arises once the N20 PRO PLUS has completed its initial scan and mapping of your floor plan when you first set it up. Although the automated mapping procedure is very quick and leaves you with an accurate map you can customise, if you have floor-level windows or ranch-sliders, the DEEBOT will scan right through the glass and add whatever's outside as an extra room. Unless you then separate this "ghost room" using a virtual boundary on your map in the ECOVACS HOME app, next time the N20 vacuums when you leave the ranch-slider open, it'll probably just carry on outside, easily summiting any low doorstep, happily vacuuming or mopping your deck.

This is exactly what happened to me and of course, I was able to solve the issue with the late application of the aforementioned virtual boundary. Trouble is, while out on the deck, the DEEBOT must have sucked up some fairly large leaves. Quite impressive... until I couldn't figure out why that oh-so-powerful PureCylone auto-empty station wasn't emptying anything. Turned out, one of those leaves was blocking up the works.

Nice to know there's enough suction for an object of that size but kind of annoying I can't just delete those "ghost rooms" off my map. This has always been an issue with the DEEBOT system and I can't wait for the day a simple app update finally fixes it.

Before I conclude, battery life is definitely worth a mention. The N20 PRO PLUS claims an amazing 300-minute runtime on its fully-charged, 5200mAh battery. I haven't run it that long to check because it doesn't take anything like that long to clean my whole house. This is by far the best battery performance from any robot vacuum I've tested to date.

Better battery, efficient and effective fuss-free mopping, an improved brush system and best of all, no bag to replace. Ever. If they could just nail that Anti-Tangle thing, the N20 PRO PLUS would be close to perfect.

    

Click here for more information on the ECOVACS DEEBOT N20 PRO PLUS.

Nanoleaf Sense+ - Make Your Smart Home More Accessible

If I lived alone, I'd have the smartest home imaginable.

Depending on the time of day (or night) each room would light up as I entered. Music would start playing automatically. The temperature would always be 22°. At a single command, the lights would go down, my TV would turn on and my favourite show would start playing from where I left off.

I literally already have all the gear to make that a reality.

But alas... I'm not the only one who lives here. Not only are the other cohabitants unwilling to sit down and learn exactly how all these gadgets work so they can control them themselves, I'm not sure I have the patience or communication skills to teach them.

I get it. As it stands, I use three different virtual assistants to control dozens of devices, not to mention those that actually work better with their own apps or remotes. I have to admit, it's a bit of a nightmare really and I'm not sure why my family puts up with any of it.

So when Nanoleaf came up with a simple way for everyone to control the lights, I was definitely interested.

The Nanoleaf Sense+ - to put it simply - is just a switch.

Which means the next time Domestic Manager complains, "Why can't there just be a switch?" I'll be able to point to it. In fact, I'll be able to hand it to her.

That's because although the Sense+ looks a lot like any other wall-mounted light switch, it's only the mounting plate that's fixed to the wall; either screwed on or fixed in place using the less-permanent adhesive backing. The switch itself merely magnetises in place - in fact, it can stick to any metal surface that's magnet-friendly.

Being completely wireless means the Sense+ is perhaps more a remote control than a switch and as such, it'll do a lot more than just turn your lights on and off.

Although, let's not underestimate the elegant simplicity of two nice big buttons - one with a picture of an illuminated light bulb and one obviously unlit. No doubt at all what's going on there.

Then, in the middle of the matchbox-sized pull-out module you'll find a dimmer rocker. Again, no ambiguity - a simple plus or minus for brighter or darker. No instructions required.

Things get a little more complicated with the left and right-hand buttons though. These are fully programmable via the Nanoleaf app and can be assigned three different functions each, depending on what sort of lights you're controlling.

It's worth noting here that not all Nanoleaf smart lights are compatible with the Sense+, so you'll probably want to do a bit of Googling before you purchase, just to make sure all your lights are going to play nicely together. I've found results can be a bit inconsistent when you group older generation lights with the newer, Matter-over-Thread-enabled models so you're better off upgrading anyway.

Regardless, it's important to update the firmware on any Nanoleaf devices you want to pair with the Sense+ before you start. This is, unfortunately, a torturously long process which often doesn't work first time. Even if you've set up your lights using Apple's Home app on an iOS device, you'll still be directed to the Nanoleaf app for the firmware update. And while, in theory, you can queue several several lights for updating simultaneously, I'd advise against it, because if something goes wrong halfway through, you may have to factory reset the light completely and start from scratch.

As you will have gathered, this is not the part of the process every member of the household should get involved in.

However, once everything is updated, you've paired the Sense+ and created a "Control Group" for it to link with, it's then a very easy process to assign functions for single clicks, double clicks and long presses of the left and right buttons.

For example, a single click of the right-hand button cycles all the lights in my living room through a list of different colours. Meanwhile, a double click of the left-hand button sets them to warm white.

But the real beauty of Nanoleaf smart lights is their ability to show customisable scenes - changing patterns of colours you can select from a growing list of preset templates, or you can create your own. Once you've saved any of these scenes to your list of favourites, they too can be assigned to one of the buttons on the Sense+.

This has got to be great news for any long-suffering family members of a tech geek like me. Now there's an easy-to find, physical switch to control the lights with. Just like the old days.

But wait...

The Sense+ has two other hidden features that give it its name; a motion sensor and a daylight sensor. This means you may not need to use any of the buttons at all. You can set the Sense+ to turn on the lights when it gets dark or when someone enters the room. Or more usefully, a combination of the two; automatically light up the room when someone enters... but only at night.

Both motion and light sensitivity can be adjusted to your preference using the app and both sensors do the job perfectly.

And because Sense+ uses Matter-over-Thread rather than just simple bluetooth or potentially crowded Wi-Fi, the commands from the buttons are carried out pretty much instantly, with almost no lag whatsoever.

When it comes to summing up the Sense+, the word "simple" keeps coming to mind. It's simple to install (and looks just like any other light switch when magnetised in place). And it's simple to use - meaning the rest of the family are no longer living in the dark when it comes to the smart lights in your home. 

The update process should be simple too - unfortunately, this has always been an issue with Nanoleaf products and there's still a lot of room for improvement. But don't let that one gripe put you off setting up your own Sense+ system. If I had my way, I'd have one in every room of the house.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the Nanoleaf Sense+ smart wireless switch.